Eternal Sonata Interview

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The director spills the beans on Namco's 360 RPG.

By Erik Brudvig

Eternal Sonata is coming sooner than you may think. The game formerly known as Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream is coming to the US in the summer of 2007, making a year already packed with great RPGs stuffed to the brim. Since much is still in the dark about exactly how Eternal Sonata plays, we went straight to the source to learn more. we spoke with two core team mambers, Producer Shinji Noguchi, who's resume reads like a best-of-GameCube-and-PS2 RPG list, and Hiroya Hatsushiba, the man responsible for the story concept, director of Eternal Sonata, and CEO of TriCrescendo. Noguchi has worked on Baten Kaitos -- Eternal Wings and The Lost Ocean, Baten Kaitos Origins, and Tales of Phantasia, and Hatsushiba's past credits include Baten Kaitos Origns, Valkyrie Profile 2, Star Ocean: Til the End of Time, and Radiata Stories.

IGN: Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. We haven't been told much about the story in Eternal Sonata yet. Can you give us a basic rundown of the story in Eternal Sonata?

Shinji Noguchi: The story of Eternal Sonata revolves around the famous composer, Frederick Chopin, in the dream he sees hours before his death. In his dream, Chopin meets a girl named Polka, who has been stricken with an incurable illness and has the gift of magic in return. In their journey, they also meet a boy with a strong sense of justice named Allegretto. The story is about their journey through a land that is caught up on the verge of war. As they embark on this journey, they meet various characters along the way and discover what truly lies in the depths of their hearts.

IGN: We'd like to know about the main characters. Can you give us their names and a bit of each of their backgrounds and personalities?

Shinji Noguchi: There will be many more characters in the story, but we can only disclose information on Chopin, Allegretto, Polka and Allegretto's friend, Beat at the moment. Allegretto is a boy with a strong sense of justice. Although knowing his actions are unjust, Allegretto and Beat steal bread in order to save the starving poor children in their town. Beat loves the camera and I believe you will find this quite obvious in the game. Both Chopin and Polka are able to use magic in the dream world with death being on the horizon.

IGN: You worked on Valkyrie Profile 2, Star Ocean 3, and Radiata Stories. Both Star Ocean 3 and Radiata Stories had specific moments where the story had a rift and went in either a new or branching direction. Should we expect a similar stark delineation in the story at a specific point, branching endings, or a straightforward adventure?

Hiroya Hatsushiba: Since I was in charge of sound for Valkyrie Profile 2, Star Ocean 3 and Radiata Stories, their influence will not directly have an effect in the story of Eternal Sonata this time. Since part of the joy of playing through an RPG is to anticipate how the story will unfold, I will save this and not spoil the fun for players. However, I will say that we have put a great deal of effort into the lines and dialogues in order to bring out the feelings and emotions of each character, as well as vividly portraying the conflicts they are struggling with.

IGN: The action and turn-based hybrid battle system sounds similar to what we saw in Star Ocean: Til the End of Time. Can you explain for us the way the way the battle system works in Eternal Sonata? What makes this battle system unique?

Hiroya Hatsushiba: Since I was only responsible for the sound of Star Ocean: Til the End of Time, there will be no direct influence on the battle system of Eternal Sonata. The battle system of Eternal Sonata is a mixture of the turn-based system that RPG users are familiar with and the active battle system. Each character will be able to roam freely in the battle field and use their attacks as often as they like in an allotted amount of time. The battle field is also divided into areas of light and shadow where each character's special attack will change depending on whether they stand. Enemies will also morph depending on their position in the light or shadow.

IGN: How will the leveling and skill system work? Will we have control over how each character improves or will that be set by you?

Shinji Noguchi: Characters will receive experience after each battle which they can then use to level up. Newly acquired skills can be assigned to specific buttons. The player will be able to control their character's fighting style this way.